Lawyers are preparing for a dynamic and exciting future, with the Law Society of New South Wales leading the charge in offering a glimpse into a world where law is done differently.

Driving home their commitment to guiding the legal profession to adapt to the rapidly changing legal landscape, the Law Society hosted their second annual Future of Innovation in the Legal Profession (FLIP) Conference in Sydney on 25 July 2019, attended by more than 600 lawyers, innovators and technologists.

Headlined by the esteemed Canadian law firm advisor, innovator and legal futurist Mitch Kowalski, who opened with a keynote speech on ‘Lawyering in 2050: Robots in suits or just a slightly better version of 2019?’, the conference also featured engaging conversations on the ‘Uberisation’ of the legal services industry, digital transformation, artificial intelligence and the core skills lawyers will need to future-proof their careers.

Mitch Kowalski presents his thoughts on the changing legal landscape

Keypoint Law was delighted to contribute to the innovation conversation, with CEO Warren Kalinko featuring in a panel discussion on the topic ‘Evolving legal services ecosystems: What it means for you’. Drawing on his experience of launching and growing a thriving challenger law firm in the early days of ‘NewLaw’ in Australia, Warren said that regulatory changes that opened up the ownership of law firms to non-lawyers was a key driver of change, followed closely by evolving client needs and lawyers’ appetite for a new way of working.

Left to right: Anna Golovsky – Executive Manager, Agility & Legal Operations (IAG), Warren Kalinko – CEO (Keypoint Law), Steven Walker – Managing Director (Elevate), Richard McCabe – Associate Director, Banking & Financial Services (Macquarie Bank) and Joel Barolsky – Managing Director (Barolsky Advisors)

With a proliferation of legal tech products entering the market, increased collaboration between law firms and their clients, and a new generation of tech-savvy lawyers rising through the ranks, there is no doubt that the future of the Australian legal industry is bright.